The useful trees of northern NigeriaLely, Hugh Vandervaes
Science
The useful trees of northern Nigeria
Lely, Hugh Vandervaes
Plants, Useful -- Nigeria, Northern; Trees -- Nigeria, Northern
=The Flowers= appear in April and persist till well on in June, the
fruits almost ripening before the last flowers are over. They are in
axillary clusters, 2-3 on a stalk and 2-4 stalks in an axis. They are ½
inch in diameter, bright yellow, with 5 long, narrow yellowish sepals,
5 small, round yellow petals and a mass of yellow stamens surrounding a
knobbed pistil.
=The Fruits= are blackish when ripe, green with a pubescence before
ripe, 2-lobed, with a cell in each lobe. They are edible.
[Illustration]
=GUIERA SENEGALENSIS= Lam.—_Sabara_. COMBRETACEAE.
A shrub, or, very occasionally, a small tree, which covers wide areas
of otherwise barren land in the Bush savannah. In north-west Sokoto,
for example, there are miles of this scrub covering what were large
areas of cultivation at one time. It also covers the bare rocky slopes
and summits of the flat-topped hills. On these it is associated with
the smaller _Combretum_ species “geza.” In appearance it is a bushy
plant with several stems, dusty grey-green in colour from a few feet to
about 15 feet in height. It is most conspicuous in fruit. The stems are
very subject to a gall caused by a grub whose brown excretions fill the
cavity in the gall. A small black and brown ant is found covering the
plant at times.
=The Bark= is grey, and that of the young stems and branches is brown
and covered with loose, brown fibres running vertically.
=The Wood= is cream-coloured with a reddish tinge. In transverse
section the rings are darker bands, the pores are very small, single,
in nests and in festoons, the contents closing most of them; the rays
are very fine and evenly spaced, close together. The grain is coarse
and twisted and the wood is tough and of no practical value. Weight 55
lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= vary much in size, being from 1-2 inches long and ¾-1½
inches wide. They have a slightly cordate base, a pointed tip and are
broadly oval. The stalk is ¼ inch long. They are in pairs and opposite.
They are a dusty grey-green, but a fresh green when new, and are rather
dry and leathery in composition.
=The Flowers=, which are found at most times of the year, are in
greeny-yellow, spherical heads about ½ inch across, enclosed at first
in a sheath of bracts which splits open first into two parts and
finally into four, which bend right back and persist in the fruiting
stage. The head of flowers is on an inch long stalk in the axil of a
leaf and bears a pair of tiny bracts about half-way up. Each flower has
a 5-lobed calyx, 5 slender petals and 10 long stamens round a straight
pistil. The whole is covered with minute black dots which are raised.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account